We understand that members of the Armed Forces, and their families, are often worried about disclosing or seeking support around these issues, and that they can face a number of additional, unique barriers in doing so.

That’s why Aurora New Dawn provides a dedicated service to Armed Forces Personnel and their families. Our specialist advocate understands the Armed Forces Community, and how difficult it can be to come forward. The support we provide is confidential, independent, non-judgemental and free.

We offer support to anyone aged 16 and over, who is experiencing domestic abuse, sexual violence and/or stalking:

– Where the victim is a serving member of the armed forces themselves, or

– Where the alleged perpetrator(s) is a serving member of the armed forces.

Our support is client-led, which means that we will work with you, on a one-to-one basis, to offer advice tailored to your individual situation and support needs. We work closely with all our clients to increase their safety, reduce the risk of harm, and support them in moving forward.

If you would like support or advice, you can call, text or email Lynne on:

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/the-armed-forces/feed/0Work With Us – New Vacancieshttp://www.aurorand.org.uk/work-with-us-new-vacancies/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/work-with-us-new-vacancies/#respondThu, 11 Oct 2018 14:26:31 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1239Interested in what we do? Want to join our team?

We currently have the following vacancy. For full details of how to apply, please see the job pack below.

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/fundraiser-womens-mind-and-body-conference/feed/0“They believed me and that is all I needed” – Blog Post – Helpline Servicehttp://www.aurorand.org.uk/they-believed-me-and-that-is-all-i-needed-blog-post-helpline-service/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/they-believed-me-and-that-is-all-i-needed-blog-post-helpline-service/#respondTue, 03 Apr 2018 12:20:42 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1151It is with great sadness that Aurora Helpline and Referral Service ended on the 31st March 2018, after 6 years of operation. I have been so proud to be the manager of this service since its inception, and along with the CEO of Aurora New Dawn, I feel we created a service that offered a unique addition to both Aurora services and the other domestic abuse support services offered across the county. I wanted to take time to write this blog to share my experience and to thank everyone who has been involved.

The Aurora Helpline and Referral Service came into operation in August 2012. As an organisation, we were conscious that DVA survivors in our local and surrounding area did not have access to a local independent Out of Hours specialist service. This meant that the only option that survivors had, if they needed support during the night or over the weekend, was to call the police or a national helpline service. Not all survivors want police support at this time and whilst we appreciate and respect the work of the national support helplines, we wanted to offer a bespoke, localised triage option for survivors.

We also wanted to offer a referral pathway for services such as police, nurses and out of office emergency teams that could refer survivors of domestic abuse at time of crisis. Our volunteers could engage with survivors immediately and offer emotional empathetic support as well as safety planning, risk assessing and an onward referral to a specialist service in their area.

With this in mind the Aurora Helpline and Referral Service was ‘born’. At the time, it was an innovative service that offered a real opportunity for survivors to receive early support at a time when they needed it most and offered early access to specialist services providing a wraparound support for them. The underlying premise was simple and evidence based; there is a ‘window of opportunity’ when people seek help and if you offer support at that point, they are more likely to engage with support services and the criminal justice system (Domestic Violence Matters, 2005). This engages people quickly, improves their safety and reduces the likelihood of future incidents.

Aurora supports both female and male survivors of domestic abuse but as per national and global statistics the overwhelming majority of survivors that came through our helpline were female, 96% and 89% of alleged perpetrators were male. These figures support and evidence the fact that domestic abuse is a gendered crime. The Crown Prosecution Service data (2014-15), shows that 93% of defendants in domestic abuse court cases are male, and 84% of victims are female with two women still being murdered due to male violence every three days in England and Wales (ONS, 2017)

Although I managed the service it was the volunteers that enabled every shift to happen every year even at Christmas and bank holidays since August 2012. Over that time, the helpline has been supported by 88 volunteers offering a service to 2460 clients. The volunteers offered their services for free and came from all walks of life. We have had volunteers from the University of Portsmouth, survivors of domestic abuse, health care professionals and community members who wanted to give something back. One thing all our volunteers have in common is that they care deeply about the survivors, are passionate about the work Aurora delivers, keeping the feminist ethos and model central to their work, and they are empathetic to our survivors’ experiences whatever stage of their journey they are on. They want to help and support whether that is a listening ear, safety information or support to engage in the criminal justice system. Our amazing volunteers have heard some very harrowing stories and yet they have dealt with all situations with professionalism in a person-centred way.

What our volunteers say:

“Volunteering for Aurora alongside my studies has allowed me to gain real-life experience in helping victims of DV that university could not provide. I will truly miss working for this service. My appreciation for this service is immense and I wish the ‘Aurora New Dawn’ community the best of luck for the future. You’ve made my university experience phenomenal and for that, I cannot thank you enough.”

“Volunteering for Aurora has given me so much insight into how brave survivors are. Their resourcefulness never fails to inspire me. I love being on the helpline.”

Survivor’s voice is a central part of all our service provision and we believe in capturing their experience to ensure our services are working for them, as such we undertake evaluations with all survivors. For the period of 2017 to 2018 completion of qualitative evaluations with clients using the helpline evidenced the following:

83% of clients said they had a greater understanding of risk

68% said they were satisfied with the police at the time of contact

100% said they had ‘an increased sense of wellbeing’ after speaking with our volunteers

100% of clients said that an out of hours’ helpline was important to them

The service has changed and developed over the last six years in line with new contracts and commissioning that has come into place, some of which Aurora has been lucky enough to be involved in. For the past three years the service has been operating for Portsmouth City only and the core premise of our Helpline was, and remained, the safety of the survivors, how best we can support them and an easy access referral route for survivors and professionals out of hours. The overwhelming majority, 86%, of our referrals came from the police response and patrol officers in Portsmouth and we want to thank them for working in such close partnership with us and trusting us to make a difference to our shared client group.

I have thoroughly enjoyed implementing; managing and at times being an on-call ‘volunteer’ throughout the six years. I feel huge sadness at the loss of this service but I equally feel very privileged and proud to have been part of such a simple process that engaged so many women at a point where they were ready to talk to us.

I wish to thank the volunteers for their dedication and unyielding support, the partner agencies who referred to us and to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for funding the service. Most importantly I want to extend a MASSIVE thank you to all our brave survivors who trusted us with their stories and allowed us the time to offer them practical and emotional support.

The survivors are some of the strongest, bravest and most resilient people I have met and they always remind me that – Everyone is entitled to live a life free from violence and abuse.

I want to honour the survivors who trusted us and give the final words to them:

“The volunteer was amazing, kind and considerate when asking questions. The service has been really good and helpful. In the situation it’s really nice to have someone that doesn’t judge.”

“Overwhelmed with how much support was available, thank you.”

“Kind – great to speak to. Genuine and caring and supportive people who understand the issues of DV.”

“Felt help straight away. Helped recognise other forms of abuse and gained knowledge.”

“Help and explanation Aurora gave was brilliant.”

“Lots of support and felt very comfortable by knowing that there are services here to help.”

“Very supportive and encouraging, would give her [volunteer] the best rating – very high level.”

“They believed me and that is all I needed.”

Lyn Tiller

Aurora – Community Projects Manager

REFERENCES

Evaluation of Domestic Violence Matters; Dr. Liz Kelly et all 2011 and Home Office Research Study 290 Marianne Hester and Nicole Westmarland, University of Sunderland 2005.

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/they-believed-me-and-that-is-all-i-needed-blog-post-helpline-service/feed/0Our Top 18 Amazing sisters’ (International Women’s Day)http://www.aurorand.org.uk/our-top-18-amazing-sisters-international-womens-day/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/our-top-18-amazing-sisters-international-womens-day/#commentsTue, 06 Mar 2018 15:39:15 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1125International Women’s Day is held every year on 8th March to celebrate the movement for women’s rights. At Aurora we want to celebrate the women who have inspired and driven us to make a difference to victims and survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking.

The Aurora team pulled together a list of their top 18 amazing sisters for 2018, each woman has inspired us in our work and their efforts mean a lot to us. They keep us going when the work gets tough.

The list of women we have chosen represent the undeniable contributions they have made to the violence against women sector. All these women have formed part of the history of our movement from re-establishing reclaim the night marches, fundraising and naming the women who have died at the hands of male violence to tackling the obvious oppression of women in the legal system.

They are not in any particular order – in our eyes every single one of these women is a total warrior and #TeamAurora thank every single one of them from the bottom of our feminist hearts and boots.

Karen Ingala-Smith For her heart breaking annual search and recording of ‘counting dead women’ murdered at the hands of men which reminds us all why we work in this sector. If ever we need reminding why we do this work we look at Karen’s website and take heart that Karen names those women for us all to continue our work in their honour.

Professor Amanda Robinson – for her work around the identification and management of priority perps, which has been really influential in our own services, research and practice.

Rachel Williams for being a total warrior and overcoming her horrific experiences of DA to fight consistently for victim’s voices to be heard.

Jean Hatchet For her tireless campaigning and fundraising for women who have been murdered, she adds her voice to the VAW sector in an empowering and inspiring way and uses her social media platform for the benefit of survivors. We love her for her sheer tenacity, focus, wit and even when she is angry her grammar is impeccable!

Diana Barren For changing the lives of high risk victims of domestic abuse and the landscape in which we work. She was the driving force for the implementation of IDVA’s across the UK and her work has undoubtedly saved lives.

Polly Neate For her astounding work achieved in just four years as CEO at Women’s Aid. She took the organisation through instrumental change and made us all remember why Women’s Aid was initiated in the second wave feminist movement of the 1970s. In particular her work on the Child First campaign is both heart wrenching and life changing for murdered children and their surviving parents.

Harriet Wistrich For being the best kind of woman! She has been a lawyer for years. Harriet has changed the lives of the women she represents in court and in equal measure in every case she impacts hugely on the VAW sector. We watch her cases in anticipation as I know what she does centres women who have experienced abuse. She seems to have the Midas touch when it comes to influencing change in the legal system for women.

Rachel Horman For being another amazing lawyer. We like Rachel’s blog posts in particular as she makes legal speak understandable. We often advise survivors to look at her posts and they say it always helps them to understand their experiences.

Sylvia Walby A total guru! Her research into the costs of DVA has undoubtedly made it easier to show the people in power why they should be spending money on supporting victims and survivors. The stark costs of ignoring the issue make our jobs easier when we are trying to get funding for vital services.

Jasvinder Sanghera We love her books. We have been lucky enough to listen to her speak and her work has really inspired us to understand the differences needed and the best organisations to contact when supporting victims of so called honour based violence.

Laura Richards For her work on the DASH risk assessment tool which has undeniably changed the sector for the better, we now all talk to each other about risk of our clients and the DASH tool enables us to have a shared common language for murder prevention for victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The DASH save lives and we have Laura to thank for that.

Marai Larasi For being a beacon of hope. Her work with IMKAAN has been ground breaking and her laser sharp focus on BAME women and the compounding factors of intersectionality are so inspiring. We loved seeing her at the golden globes, she totally deserved to be there and her smile makes us smile.

Dr Finn Mckay For reviving the Reclaim the Night Marches in London which had a ripple effect across the UK cannot be underestimated. She was the inspiration for our RTN marches in Portsmouth and she made us want to march in solidarity with her and all the women across the country.

Roxanne Gay For her work on trauma, women and feminism and whose writing style and championing of women we find truly inspirational.

Julie Bindel For her long term contribution and involvement in the feminist movement of which she has been an active part since 1979. Her global campaigning for women experiencing male abuse in all its forms is inspirational and we love her.

Professor Liz Kelly For dedicating her life’s work to researching the impacts of violence against women and as an activist for over 40 years we think everyone should take time to read her work and learn something.

Pragna Patel – For her work with Southall Black sisters (SBS) which has been monumental in our practice. She and the work of SBS consistently remind us why we need to keep fighting for all black and Asian women living in the UK and focus on the challenges they face when experiencing violence and abuse.

Sarah Green – For being incredibly supportive to us as an organisation. She reached out to us when things got tough and is always on the end of an email. Her publications for EVAW are always brilliant and her voice as an advocate for our sector is truly inspiring.

Lastly but by no means least we want to honour all the victims and survivors we have ever been lucky enough to work with, speak to and support. Working with them and experiencing their voices and stories daily is inspiration enough for us to continue to fight for a world where we end violence against women and girls. They win on the amazing sisters list every time!

All our love and solidarity

#TeamAurora

#ForTheVictimsAndSurivors

#IWD2018

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/our-top-18-amazing-sisters-international-womens-day/feed/1Tragedy? Or a systematic Failure? Serial and priority perpetrators – Blog posthttp://www.aurorand.org.uk/tragedy-or-a-systematic-failure-serial-and-priority-perpetrators-blog-post/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/tragedy-or-a-systematic-failure-serial-and-priority-perpetrators-blog-post/#respondFri, 09 Feb 2018 14:42:54 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1110In 2016, our Operations Manager, Zoë, completed her MSc in Criminology and Criminal Psychology. Her dissertation focused on the identification and management of serial perpetrators of domestic abuse in England and Wales. She won the Sage award for best Masters Dissertation.

In the post below, Zoe shares some extracts from that dissertation, and her thoughts on the ways in which our approach to these offenders needs to improve.

For clarity: The term ‘Serial perpetrators’ is usually used to refer to individuals who have used or threatened violence or abuse against two or more victims who are unconnected to each other (ACPO, 2009). Many commentators have argued that focusing solely on targeting these perpetrators (i.e. those who have more than one victim) might mean we ‘miss’ other areas of potential risk. The term ‘Priority Perpetrators’ addresses this by encompassing serial perperatotors alongside those who repeatedly offend against the same partner, and also those engaged in high-risk abusive behaviours, regardless of the number of victims involved.

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In early 2018, there was extensive media coverage and widespread outrage surrounding the trial of Theodore Johnson, a man who pleaded guilty to murdering his ex-partner. What made this case so utterly shocking is that this was the third partner or ex-partner he has killed: the first was in 1981.

Shortly afterwards, The Guardian asked: “Is this a uniquely tragic triple crime, or a systematic failure to take domestic violence seriously?”

It is tragic, absolutely. But unfortunately, it is by no means ‘unique’.

On 2nd January 2012, the body of Claire O’Connor was discovered in the boot of her own car. Claire had died from blunt force trauma to her neck (McAteer, 2015, p. 10). In 2013, Aaron Mann – Claire’s ex-partner – was jailed for her murder (Dimmer, 2015). Mann had two known partners before Claire, with both relationships characterised by domestic abuse (McAteer, 2015, p. 12). He had numerous domestic abuse-related convictions and arrests against his name (McAteer, 2015, p. 14), along with several other incidents involving previous partners of which agencies were aware, but no official reports were made (McAteer, 2015, p.14). After identifying a number of failings in both risk assessment and risk management prior to Claire’s murder, the Domestic Homicide Review into Claire’s death posed the question:

“how are known perpetrators identified and how are the risks that they pose to others assessed? For example an initial incident may not be serious, but if it is perpetrated by someone known to present high risks to partners, how can this be factored in and influence the overall risk assessment and risk management plan? “

(McAteer, 2015, p.76)

Two years later, on the 18th February 2014, Hollie Gazzard was murdered by her ex-partner, Asher Maslin, at the age of just 20. Hollie was stabbed 14 times in the neck, chest and torso, inside the hair salon in which she worked, in front of her colleagues, dying two hours later in hospital. Maslin, himself only 22 at the time of the murder, had a significant criminal history including violence in a non-domestic setting (Warren, 2015, p.19). His domestic abuse history was equally extensive, including a total of 24 violent incidents against 4 different individuals, 3 of whom were ex-partners (one being Hollie) and one of whom was his mother (Warren, 2015, p. 29). In the review into Hollie’s death, Warren (2015), observed:

“Paul [the review panel’s pseudonym for Maslin] had a long history of violence towards women…the review panel therefore concludes that if all the evidence had been known to any one agency, it would have been predictable that Paul would at some stage critically injure or kill someone”

Theodore Johnson’s case is shocking, but it is not unsurprising to those working in the Violence and Abuse sector: this has long been an area of public protection work that requires urgent attention. Studies have demonstrated that up to 18% of domestic abuse perpetrators who re-offend do so against a different partner (Hester & Westmarland, 2006), and ACPO (2009) have estimated that there may be as many as 25,000 serial perpetrators of domestic abuse in contact with police at any one time in the UK. Research clearly demonstrates that without effective intervention, perpetrators of domestic abuse are likely to continue their behaviour (Hester & Westmarland, 2006, p.35; Sonkin, 1987 cited in Richards, Letchford & Stratton, 2008, p. 129) and, further, that abuse tends to escalate in both frequency and severity as it is repeated (Richards, Letchford & Stratton, 2008, p. 128).

As such, calls for a more proactive response to these serial/priority perpetrators are not new. As early as 2004, Richards warned that prolific and serial domestic abuse offenders were, literally, ‘Getting Away With It’. In 2009, referencing Richards’ work, The Association of Chief Police Officers [ACPO] published their report ‘Tackling Perpetrators of Violence Against Women and Girls’. This report presented a number of recommendations to ensure the “wider recognition, and improved management, of serial perpetrators of violence against women and girls”, including that a register and tracking system be introduced in order to improve both the identification and management of these individuals (ACPO, 2009, pp. 29-34).

5 years later, however, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary [HMIC] still noted that “most forces do not have a systematic approach to targeting repeat or prolific perpetrators of domestic abuse” (HMIC, 2014a, p. 106). Even when reviewing this position in the light of the 43 resulting force action plans, they concluded: “…these plans showed there is a lack of consistency around the management of serial perpetrators” (HMIC, 2015a, p. 96), and further, “very few forces include domestic abuse perpetrators in their Integrated Offender Management (IOM) process” (HMIC, 2015a, p. 96).

My own dissertation research, undertaken in 2016, reached similar conclusions. Through the use of requests to each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I found that provision for both the identification and management of serial perpetrators of domestic remains inconsistent across England and Wales.

In England, for example, less than half of the police forces reported a clear process for both the identification and management of serial perpetrators. Just over a third (33%/n=13) detailed systems which, although not a total lack of provision, appeared to fall short of a process which would enable them to clearly and consistently identify serial perpetrators and to manage them as routine, whether alone or within a wider cohort of priority/high risk domestic abuse offenders. 6 force areas in England reported having no identification or management processes in place, representing 15.4% of English forces without the ability to identify, monitor or manage serial perpetrators. Further, those forces with clear processes in place appear to be approaching the issue differently across different areas, with various combinations of approaches/projects and no one model appearing to directly mirror another.

In addition, only a small number of forces (Essex, Hampshire, North Yorkshire and Northumbria) made specific reference to taking a multi-agency approach to this area of work or to making use of intelligence from partner agencies in their assessments of risk. This was particularly surprising given that multi-agency working is recognised as best practice nationally in terms of the response to domestic abuse (Home Office, 2014; Tapley, 2010). This failure to work collaboratively is at odds with the learning from multiple DHRs, which emphasise the importance of multi-agency working and information-sharing in this area (see, for example: Ashman, 2014b, p. 47; Home Office, 2013a; McAteer, 2015, p.73; SVCSP & OSCB, 2016, p. 45, 61). It also – crucially – fails to acknowledge that not all domestic abuse incidents are reported to the police.

We are, however, beginning to see emerging pockets of good practice. The approach in Hampshire, for example, includes both direct work with offenders and a single point of contact (SPOC) service to assess, monitor and track serial perpetrators (Hampton Trust, 2016). Importantly, this response has been built around both multi-agency working, and cross-agency information-sharing, between the Domestic Abuse Prevention Partnership (DAPP), the police Offender Management HUB, and other key local agencies, including frontline domestic abuse services (Hampshire Constabulary, 2016b). Aurora New Dawn is proud to be a part of DAPP, and to work alongside both The Hampton Trust and Baseline Consultancy in pushing forward the response to serial/priority perpetrators in the County.

Another example of co-ordinated work in this area is the DRIVE project, currently being run by Safelives across two pilot sites, and designed to “challenge the behaviour of perpetrators, and co-ordinate the response they receive across all agencies.” (Safelives, 2016). DRIVE targets serial and repeat perpetrators, providing a one-to-one intervention with the aim of promoting long-term behavioural change (Safelives, 2016). Whilst the two approaches are different in design, the DRIVE project, like the Hampshire response, is quite clearly committed to “a multi-agency response to domestic abuse with partner agencies” and “sharing information, both within and between agencies about people at risk of experiencing or perpetrating domestic violence and abuse.” (Safelives & Social Finance, 2015, pp. 5-6)

Despite these pockets of localised good practice, the fact remains that there is currently no formalised legal framework or national process by which serial perpetrators are routinely identified, monitored and managed in England and Wales. It is this that needs to change, and urgently. A co-ordinated approach is required – mandated at a national level, and robustly led locally – which focuses on placing responsibility on serial/priority perpetrators for their behaviour and, crucially, on disrupting their offending. In order to do this, we need clear national guidelines, borne from the sharing of best practice and examples of models that demonstrate ‘what works’ in terms of effective identification and management.

I would go further, however, and argue that one of the key ways in which we can make strides in this area is through the creation of a register for serial perpetrators, operating along similar lines to the sex offenders register. Both ACPO (2009) and Paladin (2014) have proposed this response, and calls for implementation continue to grow, with a petition to this effect amassing 135,000 signatures to date. Whilst a register is not a solution in itself, it absolutely offers the potential to drive forward a cultural shift, a sense of national consistency, and a more proactive policing response to those who pose the highest risk of harm (Paladin, 2014, no pagination).

Ultimately, when we are looking to keep victims safe, this is not an ‘either/or’ situation. The proactive targeting of priority perpetrators must be included in work to tackle domestic abuse, and it is crucial that this forms part of a collaborative response alongside specialist, well-resourced victim services.

In short, our response to this cohort of dangerous offenders must be substantially improved if we are to have the chance of reducing both the costs – and the impact – of domestic abuse over the coming years:

“Tracking, responding to and dealing with serial perpetrators is less well developed as a method of protecting victims. This is just starting to change but the circumstances of this review underline the need for it. The learning from this review stems almost entirely from the knowledge of events and interventions in the perpetrator’s 2 previous relationships. This is fitting as it contributes to a growing body of knowledge that suggests tracking and management of serial perpetrators has a significant role in protecting future potential victims”

Domestic Homicide Review into the death of ‘Ms Z’ (Ashman, 2014a, p. 5)

We at Aurora believe it is imperative to tackle the continued serial abuse of perpetrators in order to better protect victims and survivors. By continuously putting the onus on the victim, perpetrators continue to abuse multiple victims, their abuse escalates and the end point for many of their victims is death. This is about murder prevention.

You can sign the petition for a register of serial stalkers and domestic abuse perpetrators here.

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/tragedy-or-a-systematic-failure-serial-and-priority-perpetrators-blog-post/feed/0Looking at the term ‘bi- directional violence’ through the lens of a victimhttp://www.aurorand.org.uk/looking-at-the-term-bi-directional-violence-through-the-lens-of-a-victim/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/looking-at-the-term-bi-directional-violence-through-the-lens-of-a-victim/#respondWed, 31 Jan 2018 10:06:52 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1102How does a relationship evolve to be abusive? Does it take deliberate acts by one person against another to gain power and control bit by bit?
In my view an abusive relationship is every single section of the Duluth Power and Control Wheel:

Acts of coercion, intimidation, emotional abuse, behaviours aimed at degrading, destroying and humiliating the other person to gain control. How is this control exerted? By the presence, use or threat of physical and sexual violence. Practitioners and survivors may be familiar with term ‘intimate partner terrorist’ because that is what they are. Holding every person in that home to ransom in exchange for their emotional worth, their self-esteem and any desire to leave.

Johnson (2006) after extensive research devised three terms to explain the sub types of perpetrator that might be seen in intimate partner violence. These three terms include the intimate partner terrorist detailed above, violence resistance and situational couple violence. The term violence resistance denotes victims who in the face of further abuse use learnt behaviours to protect themselves and behave violently for self-preservation. Differentially situational couple violence is a term coined to describe toxic relationships in which there is violence but this is not about gaining power and control over the other person. Misunderstanding these terms can drastically increase risks to victims. Johnson himself stresses that the most dangerous of all abuse is intimate partner terrorism, which Aurora asserts is the real essence of what we are naming when we talk about domestic abuse.

In recent months I have seen a new terminology being used. The term bi- directional violence has become common parlance in some multi agency meetings. The term has been generated to capture relationships in which both parties use violence and/ or abusive behaviours to one another. The term suggests that a single primary aggressor cannot be identified. My question then is how would a survivor feel? Particularly those who begin to resist and fight back, knowing that their acts of self-defence, their attempts at protecting themselves, their use of learned aggression against the perpetrator are seen as a balanced form of intimate partner violence?

Imagine knowing the mood of the perpetrator and being able to predict whether it is physical violence, verbal abuse, control tactics or the threat of a sexual assault that is brewing. However, one day out of fear you assault the perpetrator to protect yourself and the children. But this time they contact they police and you find yourself being arrested. The perpetrator actively claims victim status, giving details of all the times there have been other violent incidents. The normal safeguarding won’t apply to you now because you have been a victim and are now a perpetrator. The perpetrator might get a visit from the safeguarding agencies who will offer them support. Imagine then that at the next multi- agency meeting your experiences of control, psychological abuse, serious physical and sexual violence are reduced to ‘bi- directional’ violence.
What are we really saying; that she is as bad as him, six of one half a dozen of another. Frontline practitioners within Aurora would always be of the opinion that attitudes like this are archaic and patriarchal. We absolutely do not condone violence in any form. However, it is important in our work to explore with a survivor who is beginning to fight back. We understand why this might happen but we plan with them to ensure this doesn’t occur for the future safeguarding of everyone linked to the abuse, including the perpetrator. Some of our advocates have worked with women who have killed their partners in self-defence and the ramifications of this are lifelong.
Most importantly, if we don’t explore we ignore the voice of the victim. Many survivors of abuse are likely to try and predict the violence, placating the perpetrator and doing what is necessary to avoid more serious injury. What the victim hears is that we do not understand her experiences. We ignore the gendered nature of domestic violence, we don’t delve deeper into the power and control in that relationship and we do not identify who the primary aggressor is. We completely overlook the victims experience and buy into the perpetrators narrative about ‘her being as bad as him.’

To evidence this point home further, January 8th 2018 saw the release of the Domestic Homicide Review into the murder of Katrina O’Hara on 7th January 2016 by her former partner (Mellor, 2018). The first police response into domestic abuse within this relationship was made on 10th November 2015 when both parties alleged they had been assaulted. The victim admitted to throwing some of the perpetrators stuff around. Within 58 days of making this report the victim had been murdered. The DHR review made multiple recommendations but of note was point 6.9 which concluded that the first police attendance was mislabelled. Reviewing Police Officers determined that that the victim was ‘very much the perpetrator’ which changed the course of police responses. Ultimately the victims’ confidence in the agencies tasked to protect her was undermined and she paid for this with her life.
Domestic abuse is gendered. It affects disproportionately more women than men; two women die a week at the hands of abusive partners (Brennan, 2016). I urge frontline practitioners to consider this the next time you hear the term bi- directional violence. Use it as an opportunity to educate others and consider investigating further into what is really happening in that home. It’s important to understand that victims don’t generally shout about their victimhood, they minimise the behaviour they make excuses for the perpetrator they rarely, if ever, shout about the abuse.

One way in which you can assess the legitimacy of counter claims is to refer to the DYN project assessment ‘identifying legitimate victims’ (Robinson & Rowlands, 2006 pp34-35).

Perpetrators are incredibly good at getting professionals to collude with their behaviour they can and will be very plausible let’s not allow them to use us in their power and control games against victims.

]]>http://www.aurorand.org.uk/aurora-agm-public-notice/feed/0We Still Need the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Here’s Why.http://www.aurorand.org.uk/we-still-need-the-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women-heres-why/
http://www.aurorand.org.uk/we-still-need-the-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women-heres-why/#respondThu, 23 Nov 2017 14:27:14 +0000http://www.aurorand.org.uk/?p=1074This Saturday, 25th November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW).

In the violence against women sector, the 25th November isn’t marked on the calendar. There’s no need, the date is etched on the mind of every frontline worker.

Why?

Because for those of us who work every day with victims and survivors of violence against women, it is vital to mark this day every year until the violence and abuse stops.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly (UN) designated the 25th November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Governments, international organizations and NGOs were invited to organize activities on that day to raise public awareness of the problem.

And as someone who works in this field every day, violence against women is not just a problem. It’s a pandemic.

Why do I say that? Let’s look at what we know.

The UN monitors global violence against women as part of its Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 global goals covering a range of social issues like poverty, education, social justice and gender equality. In the UN’s 2017 report on Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, 19 per cent of women between 15 and 49 years of age said they had experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the 12 months prior to the survey. The survey covered 87 countries using data from 2005 – 2016.

In the most extreme cases, this violence kills women. The UN report states that in 2012, almost half of all women who were victims of intentional homicide worldwide were killed by an intimate partner or family member.

How does this relate to women in the UK?

The Femicide Census compiled by activist Karen Ingala Smith details the names of every woman murdered at the hands of men each year.

In 2015, the Census documented: “at least 138 UK women are known or suspected to have been killed by men in 2015. 138 women dead in 365 days is one woman dead every 2.6 days”.

The first woman on the list was killed on 6th January 2015, her name was Natalia Czekaj, and she was 34. Natalia was stabbed to death and almost decapitated by her boyfriend James Richardson, 34. He received a 6 year sentence for manslaughter.

The last woman on the list for 2015 was killed on 30th December 2015, her name was Katy Rourke, she was 25. Gary Stevenson, 26, her flatmate, stabbed Katy 3 times after she declined his sexual advances. He received a 17 year sentence.

Natalia, Katy and every woman murdered by men in the hundreds of days between deserve to be remembered. They not only deserve a day to honour and remember them, they deserve a pledge from each of us still living to prevent further women being killed at the hands of men who perpetrate violence as part of a broader need for power and control.

In the UK, across the world, violence against women is so widespread, the reality and threat of it permeates every woman’s existence, shaping her choices and curtailing her freedom like an invisible chain.

Approximately 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales alone every year.

1 in 5 women aged 16 – 59 has experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 16

Only around 15% of those who experience sexual violence choose to report to the police

Approximately 90% of those who are raped know the perpetrator prior to the offence

The statistics are overwhelming, but don’t think for a second that you can’t make a difference to ending violence against women because there are lots of ways that you can.

IDEVAW this Saturday marks the start of the annual 16 Days of activism to end violence against women and girls, starting this Saturday 25th November and ending on Human Rights Day on 10th December.

Here’s just some ways to make a difference on IDEVAW and throughout the 16 Days.

Talk about it. Share it on your social media. Break the silence.

Because the more we all name this pandemic for what it is, the less power and control perpetrators have over their victims.

That one tweet or post on Facebook that you share could make all the difference to someone you know, or someone you’ve never met; someone who lives every day frightened, scared and silenced.

Every time we break the silence, we start to weaken the voice of a perpetrator who maintains his control over a victim by telling her, ‘Nobody will believe you.’

So let’s shout as one voice. I know this is a difficult subject but shying away from it only adds to the problem. Our team at Aurora – like so many frontline services for women across the country – will be marking the 25th November and pledging our commitment to eliminate violence against women. We believe spreading the word can make such a difference.

On Saturday and for the 16 days and beyond, you can be that difference. Join us.

#IDEVAW #16Days

To mark IDEVAW and the start of the 16 Days of activism to end violence against women and girls, Aurora and S&C have teamed up to create visuals you can share on your social media. Head over to Aurora’s Facebook page and find out more.

I write to you to appeal to your better judgment, to your Christian values and to your human kindness. I understand you are targeting St Mary’s Community Health Campus over the next 40 days as the location of a series of daily ‘vigils’ where you are praying to ‘transform individuals and communities’. I read on your website that through prayer you hope to bring the ‘beginning of the end of abortion in our city – and beyond.’

Let me be clear, I don’t have a problem with praying, or with your God, or with you having an opinion that’s different to mine. It’s clear you believe you are right, so arguing that you’re wrong seems pointless. We would only end up going in circles. On the issue of abortion, I think it’s fair to say that feminists and the religious right fundamentally disagree and that’s our right, isn’t it, as members of a democracy? So I’m not going to try to change your mind.

In fact, though it may seem strange to you, I suspect we actually have a lot in common – it’s often the case on both sides of a heavily contested argument. After all, both sides are used to having to defend our positions to others, although I must confess, I’ve never had quite your confidence to assert that my opinion is endorsed by God.

For example, as a feminist I’m used to being challenged. I’m used to hearing misinformation, stereotypes and false assumptions about my beliefs – and I’m sure you are too. I am used to having to defend my ideology on a regular, if not daily, basis and I spend large amounts of time fighting for my beliefs: in my case, the rights of women to live free from oppression, including the right to control our own bodies. I imagine your commitment and determination echo that of feminist activists like me.

I’m not here to change your mind on abortion. And I don’t need to, because the 1967 Abortion Act made abortion legal for women up to their 24th week of pregnancy. Instead, what I’m asking is for you to consider the methods you’re using to fight that law.

Specifically, I’m asking you to take a step back from protests outside abortion providers like the clinic at St Mary’s Community Hospital in Portsmouth run by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). Like BPAS, I’m asking you to Back Off:* to pray in your own space, or indeed, any space other than outside an abortion provider.

I’m asking you to understand that just as it isn’t my right to tell you your beliefs are wrong, it is not your right to attempt to emotionally manipulate, intimidate or scare women on a day that is already difficult enough. And let’s be clear how many women we’re talking about here, because a third of women in the UK will have an abortion before they are 45 years old.

I’ve read your website, I’ve seen your campaign materials, and I know that you will already be preparing arguments about the rights of a foetus over-ruling the rights of women. You will tell me that the reason an abortion is difficult for a woman is because abortion is wrong. I understand that your religious beliefs support these views.

But beyond your beliefs is a reality that – after 20 years of working in the field of women’s rights – I know very well. The reality is that you and I have no idea why any of the women walking through the doors of an abortion provider came to that decision. And frankly, there is no human on the planet who has the right to know; it’s between that woman and her God, should she believe in one. It is not between a woman and a small number of self-appointed representatives of the Lord on Earth.

And I am delighted that the majority of the British public feel the same way. According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, public support for abortion on the grounds that a woman does not wish to have the child has increased from 60% to 70% since 2005. The percentage rises to 93% if the woman’s life is in danger (and remember what I said, nobody apart from her knows the reason a woman makes the choice to have an abortion).

Not only do most of the British public not agree with your interpretation of religion, neither do the majority of Catholics. Between 1985 and 2016, Catholic support for abortion if a women doesn’t want the child almost doubled from 33% to 61%. Even the Pope has had cause to reconsider the unrelenting, unforgiving attitudes historically held by the Catholic church towards the many women of faith who have made the difficult decision to walk through the same doors you now stand outside.

Protesting – for both of us – is our human right and a central pillar of our democracy. But it should not be used as a tool for causing suffering to those we disagree with. So, I’m asking you to think again.

Give these women the privacy they need on the one day they really need it. To do so is an act that demonstrates the compassion and respect most of us understand to be at the heart of Christianity.

Doing so won’t affect your right to protest one bit. You can hold signs, and pray and sing hymns away from the clinic of an abortion provider, you will still have your say. It will make no difference to your message, but it will make every difference to a woman in pain who wants – and needs – the privacy and respect that is due to her when exercising a legal right won 50 years ago.

So please, I’m asking you to change your tactic and exercise your legal right to protest by lobbying Parliament instead of intimidating women, there is a tip and clue here for you, this is the way my social movement won the rights you protest against today.

I hope you do, and if you do, look for me. I’ll be the woman standing with a horde of sisters and supporters carrying banners that bear messages the opposite of your own. We’ll meet and disagree on an even playing field of open debate and tolerance, rather than on the side-lines of another woman’s suffering.